All About Windows News & Discussions (Phones, Tablets, OS, Apps)

. This is a discussion on All About Windows News & Discussions (Phones, Tablets, OS, Apps) within Gadgets and More. Part of The Member’s Lounge category; Finally I got the amber update for my L620 and the update is going on right now !! will update ...

Lenovo is welcoming a new tablet to its growing Miix family with the budget-friendly 8-inch Miix 8. Running on Windows 8.1, the Chinese giant is marketing the slate as a productivity device, and we'll gladly give them this one, for apart from coming with Microsoft's latest, full-fledged desktop OS, the tablet also ships with a full Office Home & Student 2013 license and touts a dedicated stylus.

Unlike most other tablet manufacturers on the market these days, Lenovo prefers to conduct business with Intel, which means that we have the latest ultra-mobile SoC from the Santa Clara-based company on-board the Miix 8 – a quad-core Intel Bay Trail-T. While we don't know the exact model that will go into the Miix 8, it's likely that we'll get the 1.5GHz Atom Z3770 or the 1.3GHz Atom Z3740, both of which offer performance rivaling that of competing solutions from Qualcomm and ARM.

The rest of the internals are also pretty decent, considering that Lenovo will be pricing these quite competitvely: $299/$349 for the 32GB/64GB models respectively. These include 2GB of LPDDR3 memory, 2MP front/5MP rear cameras and a microSD slot that will allow you to expand the internal storage already on-board. The Lenovo Miix 8 is also fairly compact, at 131.6x215.4x8.1mm and a weight of around 12.32 ounces (or 350 grams). It would appear that the 8-inch 1280x800 (16:10) IPS display is the tablet's weakest link, though battery capacity hasn't been shared, but Lenovo has promised up to 7 hours of battery life.

In terms of connectivity, there's nothing out of the ordinary considering we're closing in on 2014: Bluetooth 4.0, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, 3G and GPS3.

Lenovo says the tablet will be made available by the end of the month, though it hasn't provided any specifics as to which part of the globe will see the Miix 8 first.

Nothing major. Adds a close button to close app in the app switcher. I heard it improved the battery life a little.
Also, it's now possible to install xap from other sources.
I'll tell you more tomorrow bro.

Acer may have launched the first 8-inch Windows 8 tablet, but its initial effort with the Iconia W3 was lacklustre. It's back with the Iconia W4 just months later, and Acer has improved the worst part of the W3: the display. The W4 is still an 8-inch device, but the 1280 x 800 display is now IPS and should provide better viewing angles and color reproduction. Acer is keen to point out its W4 display is using "Zero Air Gap technology," a fancy term for removing the air between the panel and LCD to improve readability and reduce reflection.

Display aside, the W4 is also equipped with Intel's latest fourth generation Atom 1.8GHz processor, and a 5-megapixel rear camera and 2-megapixel front facing camera. It looks very similar to the W3 before it, but the W4 has managed to lose some weight this time around. It's 10.75mm thick and weighs 415g (0.91 pounds). While that's still fairly bulky and heavy compared to an iPad mini, it should definitely improve one-handed use.

The W4 might look the same, but Acer is providing a number of new optional accessories at launch. An Acer Crunch Keyboard is a 5.3mm thin Bluetooth keyboard that sits neatly into an the Crunch Cover that folds out into a tablet stand that also acts as a cover when the tablet is not in use. There's also a passive stylus, power bank, and a keyboard cover available. Acer's Iconia W4 will also ship with Microsoft Office Home and Student 2013 edition and Windows 8.1. A 32GB model will debut at $329.99 and a 64GB version will cost $379.99, and both include a microSD slot to increase storage. Acer's Iconia W4 will start shipping later this month in the US.